Changes in the Wind
by TwistedSky
Summary: Divya breaks off her engagement to Raj because of her feelings for Adam. They aren't, of course, the only feelings she has to worry about. Divya/Evan.
1. Chapter 1

I disclaim! A friend of mine misses Royal Pains, so I promised her a gifty. This is the first of five parts. Enjoy.

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Divya had a difficult choice to make.

In the first place kissing Adam wasn't so strange—after all, she'd kissed other men before. She'd even kissed Evan before, so she shouldn't have felt so . . . _terrible_ after kissing Adam, right?

Then again, kissing Evan hadn't felt like cheating, and it had been an intense moment that was completely spontaneous and required no thought.

Kissing Adam was different.

It was wrong.

She'd broken away and looked at him, shocked. He'd smiled at her and tried to assure her that she was obviously having second thoughts about marrying Raj.

She was—and third thoughts, and fourth and fifth . . .

She couldn't marry Raj.

Before she'd kissed Adam it was easy to convince herself that she'd be happy with Raj—but obviously she was already dissatisfied. She couldn't marry Raj knowing that she could hurt him if one day she met another person—or even really Adam for that matter—who made her feel enough to make her promises to Raj irrelevant. And maybe, just maybe, Raj might meet the girl of his dreams. He deserved better-he deserved _more _than what she could give him of herself and her heart.

She loved Raj. But she wasn't in love with him—and maybe she never would be.

There was something between her and Adam though. Something attractive, _magnetic_. Something she couldn't ignore. Or, more honestly, something she didn't want to ignore.

XXXX

"Divya?" Evan called out. He knocked again on her door. Strange. He was pretty sure she was home. He tried the door. Unlocked. He debated for a moment with himself—if he opened the door and walked in he could say that he was worried about her, but she'd probably kill him anyway. Then again, he didn't really want to keep standing in front of her door waiting for her to just get up and answer the damn door.

He made his decision, pushing the door open and walking inside.

He saw Divya. "Hey, Divs. So I was wondering if you'd gotten around to—who is he?" As Evan had walked deeper into the room he'd seen a shirtless Adam.

Adam waved awkwardly, "Hey, I'm Adam."

"What?" Evan practically squawked. "What about Raj? Divya, what's going on here?"

Divya sighed, knowing that Evan's mind was probably working speedily, his imagination running rampant. Adam had come over and they'd been kissing. She had accidentally poured red wine all over his white dress shirt. So, obviously, he was shirtless. Then again, she reminded herself, she didn't have to explain herself to anyone. Especially Evan. "I—It's none of your business."

"Well, no. But yeah. You're my friend, Raj is too." Evan said softly.

"We're not friends," Divya said, unsure.

"Aren't we?" Evan asked, shocked that she'd doubt that.

Adam watched with interest as Divya began to get flustered.

"Evan, please leave."

"Work, Div." Evan reminded her. He hadn't come over her just because he felt like it—there was a purpose to his invasion of her privacy.

Adam looked back and forth between Divya and Evan. "I should go."

Divya tried to stop him, "Don't let Evan scare you away. He's harmless. Annoying," she emphasized, "but harmless."

"Dude, don't worry about it." Evan said to Adam. "I'll go." Hurt was clearly evident in his voice.

Divya felt a constriction around her heart. Pressure. "I'm sorry. We'll talk later."

"Yeah, sure. It was nice meeting you . . . Adam."

"You too."

Divya watched as Evan left and Adam came up behind her and put his arms around her mid-section.

"That was a little awkward. Who is he?"

Divya cleared her throat, "That's Evan. He's Hank's brother and the CFO of HankMed."

"He's a little . . . odd."

"Yes, he is."

XXXX

Later that day Divya approached Evan with caution. "What was it you needed to talk to me about this morning?"

"Doesn't matter." Evan said, refusing to make eye contact with her. Instead, he continued to type away at his computer.

"Fine."

"Fine." Evan replied. He sighed and closed his laptop, looking up at Divya who was standing in front of him. "I don't get it. I just got used to the idea of you marrying Raj—and now you're throwing Raj away for some guy. I don't get it."

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Divya said firmly. "So just _stop_."

Evan looked at her, frowning. "What about Raj?"

Divya debated whether or not to bother telling him, but then she realized the easiest way to shut Evan up was to tell him the truth. "We ended things."

"And what? You just jumped into bed with another guy?"

Divya turned around at that, throwing her hands up. "I don't know why I even bother."

Evan jumped up, grabbing Divya's arm and turning her around gently. "I'm sorry, Div. That was . . . unfair of me."

"Yes, it was."

"I'm sorry things didn't work out between you and Raj."

"No, you aren't."

"Okay, so maybe not. But I am sorry that I hurt your feelings. It was insensitive."

"Yes, it was." Divya replied, still clearly upset by what he'd said.

"Divya—" Evan placed his hand on her cheek. "Are you okay?"

"I think so." Divya said. She knew she should probably pull away—Evan was the last person in the world who she should let comfort her.

"Does this . . . Adam guy make you happy?"

Divya hesitated, "I—I don't know yet. I think he might."

Evan forced a smile onto his face, "Then I'm happy for you."

XXXX

Telling Raj had not been easy emotionally, but it had been fairly simple logistically.

She'd kissed Adam, but she'd stopped it before it had gotten too far. Some things were more important than a single moment—like her loyalty to Raj.

She'd wanted to tell him in person, but that obviously hadn't been an option. Telling him over the phone had made her feel like a cold-hearted bitch.

Thankfully, he'd somehow known it was coming.

After irrelevant greetings there had been silence.

Divya had broken it, "Raj, I don't think I can do this anymore."

"Do what?"

"Pretend. I can't marry you." It was easiest, she believed, to just pull the band aid off. She needed to just do it—before she started to draw it out in the most painful way possible.

Raj hadn't sighed, he hadn't yelled. He didn't beg her to reconsider. "So he finally made a move."

Divya had blinked at that, slightly confused. "What?"

"Evan, he finally made a move. It's always been obvious to me that there was something between you."

"Oh, no. It's not Evan. I would never—"

"I understand, Divya. I wish you happiness."

"I wish you the same, Raj. But Evan and I aren't—"

Raj interrupted her gently. "It is what it is, Divya. I'm just glad we've figured this out before the wedding. Good luck with your parents."

Parents. Oh yeah.

Divya hadn't quite understood why Raj had somehow believed that she was breaking off their engagement to be with Evan, but she had quickly deflected that train of thought by realizing that she had to tell her parents what she'd done.

Telling them the truth—which was that it wasn't really about Adam—wouldn't work. They'd still think she was throwing her life away for some guy she'd known for a short period of time.

It wasn't about Raj. It wasn't about Adam either, in fact. Adam had made her realize that there was more to life than fulfilling the life her parents had laid out for her. Maybe he wasn't the person she would spend the rest of her life with, but that frankly didn't matter. The fact that there was that genuine, real possibility made all the difference. The idea of falling in love, of finding the right person, had never felt real to her. So she'd accepted certain aspects of her life without fighting back much at all.

Divya pushed the envelope for things that mattered to her. When she'd insisted on working for HankMed it had been because it was what she'd wanted. But marrying Raj had seemed like the right thing to do until one day she'd woken up-almost as if from a dream- and it hadn't seemed as right anymore.

Choosing not to marry Raj was, therefore, about Divya and what she needed to do.

Divya didn't want to leave, she didn't want to marry Raj. She wasn't sure she wanted to be with Adam, but she wanted to try. Divya wanted to start living her own life, finally.

Her parents would probably want to kill her, but that didn't really matter to her at the moment. What mattered was that she was taking her life into her own hands, and she was going to do what would make her happy.

XXXXXX

Thoughts? :)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two! *insert disclaimer*

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"Stop talking about her." Paige said, obviously annoyed.

Evan looked up at her in surprise, "I was only trying to say that I can't believe that she's still with him. I thought he was just some—"

"You're insulting her as well as yourself by saying that. Please, just stop." Paige sighed. "I don't need to hear 'Divya this' and 'Divya that.'"

"I was just saying—"

"Well, stop just saying. You're driving me insane."

Evan looked at Paige like he'd never seen her before, "You just don't understand."

"No," Paige stood up from her perch at the counter. "You don't understand. I came over because I wanted to spend time with you. Not with you and Divya."

"Divya isn't here," Evan said cluelessly.

"Ugh," Paige threw her hands up in the air. She grabbed her purse, "I'll see you later."

"Weren't we going to have dinner?"

Paige sent him an annoyed look. "No."

Alone, Evan threw his hands up in the air—in a manner amusingly similar to the way that Paige had done so moments before. "What did I say?"

XXXX

Hank watched as his brother and Divya argued yet again.

"You lied!" Divya practically screamed. It was interesting to watch because Hank rarely saw Divya lose her temper. And when it came to Evan she usually managed to stay in control and just taunt him.

"I did not!" Evan protested childishly, a slight whine evident in his voice.

"You did."

"Okay, so maybe I stretched the truth just a _wee_ bit."

Divya scowled at Evan. "You said you'd leave me alone."

"No I didn't. I said that if you were happy then I would be happy for you. Obviously that doesn't mean I can't proceed to make you unhappy."

"How does that even begin to make sense?"

"I said that if you were happy then I'm happy. I didn't say that if you were unhappy then I would be unhappy."

Divya took a moment to attempt to understand Evan's illogic. "So you want me to be unhappy?"

Evan looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "Of course not."

"Then what—"

Hank decided that it was time to interfere. "Don't even bother arguing with him, Divya. His mind doesn't work the way the rest of ours do."

Divya stared at Hank. "I don't understand how the two of you can possibly be brothers."

Evan narrowed his eyes, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Hank turned to his brother, "Exactly what it sounds like, I'd assume."

Divya and Evan shared one last antipathetic glance as Hank ushered her out of the room.

Evan realized moments later what Hank had done. "I hate it when he does that." They'd been having a business meeting and they'd cut it short. Evan swore that without him HankMed wouldn't be half the success it was.

XXXX

Divya really liked spending time with Adam. He made her happy.

He was sweet and kind . . . and hot.

But that was beside the point.

Her parents hadn't spoken to her in three months—exactly since the day she'd told them she wasn't marrying Raj.

Her mother had looked at her, completely shocked. Her father had seemed incredibly disappointed. Her sister had cocked her head in confusion—hadn't she told Divya to just take up with someone else _after_ the wedding?

They were all disappointed in her. But Raj—lovely, amazing Raj—had stood up for her. He had assured her family that there was nothing to worry about.

They still weren't speaking to her though, and it hurt her more than she thought she could bear.

She hadn't told Adam though. She couldn't. She didn't want him to feel guilty for tearing her away from her family—even though it wasn't his fault. He was a wonderful person, and he would feel like it was partially his fault even though it truly had little to do with him.

Instead, she suffered in silence.

After three months she couldn't handle it anymore.

She and Adam had been dating, taking things incredibly slow. She liked him. A lot. But she couldn't hold it all in anymore.

He'd been telling some story about his family when Divya had burst out crying. "Divya, what did I say?"

She realized that she was crying. She also realized that she couldn't lie to him—not if she wanted her relationship with Adam to work.

"You and me," she motioned back and forth between them, "My family doesn't like it."

Adam raised an eyebrow, "Doesn't like, or hates?"

"Hates," Divya said, smiling humorlessly.

"I'm sorry," Divya melted into his outstretched arms.

"I am too."

"Well, if they won't support you, then you should just cut your ties. Let go. You don't need them." Adam said.

Divya's eyes went wide. "I love my family."

"But if they won't accept you—" with that Divya interrupted him with a kiss. She didn't want to hear what he had to say. It would just ruin the illusion.

For the first time since she met Adam she wondered whether or not there was anything truly special about her connection to him.

Maybe, simply, he didn't know her well enough. Her family was important to her—and she couldn't expect him to understand that. Then again, if their values were so different . . . Divya cut off that train of thought.

She didn't want to think about that. For now, Adam could stay the man of her dreams, and she could pretend to have only misunderstood what he'd meant.

He would get to know her in time.

XXXX

"You need to stop giving her such a hard time." Hank told his brother.

"I'm not giving her a hard time." Evan protested.

Hank gave him a look. "You are."

"I'm not."

"Evan," Hank said warningly.

"He doesn't know her."

"When you first get to know someone you usually don't."

"They haven't even known each other for very long, but she's let him into her life. Do you know how long it took for me to get Divya to like me?"

"Divya still doesn't like you."

"Exactly." Evan said as if he believed that Hank had just proven his point. "He doesn't know what her favorite food is, or her favorite time of day. He doesn't know the little smirk she gets on her face when she knows something and thinks you don't. He—"

Hank sighed. Maybe it was time.

"Evan, shut up."

Evan, surprised, complied.

"You missed out. Let her go."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Can you at least try to make sense?"

"You're in love with Divya."

"No, I'm not." The response was almost immediate, it took absolutely no thought. Because, he assured himself, it was the truth.

"Then why in the world are you so jealous of Adam? And why were you so determined to prove that Raj wasn't good enough for Divya?"

"Because he wasn't." That much he knew.

"The problem isn't that Adam isn't good enough for Divya, it's that you don't think you are."

Evan stared at his brother. "But I'm not," he said without thinking. A shocked look crossed his face. "I don't know why I just said that."

"Because you're in love with her."

"I'm not." Evan said, his heart sinking. Maybe he was.

Hank just shook his head. "Stop being so damned annoying."

"I'm not annoying."

Hank merely stared at him.

"I'm not," he protested.

Hank raised an eyebrow.

Evan narrowed his eyes. "I'm not."

The kitchen was filled with the sounds of Hank's laughing as Evan left.

XXXX

"Hey Div."

Divya turned and scowled at him. "What are you doing here?"

Evan twiddled his thumbs nervously. "I came to apologize for yesterday."

Divya did a mental double-take. "What?"

"I came to apologize for yesterday."

"You've been giving out a lot of apologies lately."

"I've been wrong a lot lately," Evan said simply.

"That's nice of you to admit," Divya said.

Evan cocked his head to the side. "Are you okay?"

Divya looked at him, surprised. "I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine."

Divya pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Because I'm not. When did you start reading me so well?"

Evan shrugged. "I pay attention."

"It doesn't seem like it."

"Well I do," Evan said, not nearly as defensively as she might have expected. "What's wrong?"

"They won't talk to me," Divya was shocked to hear herself say.

"Your family?" Evan guessed.

"Yes. My family. They're upset about Adam."

"They love you Divs, just give them some time."

Divya looked into his eyes, surprised. "How did you know exactly what I needed to hear?"

Evan shrugged, surprised himself. He felt slightly uncomfortable by how serious the conversation was. "Magic, I guess."

Divya laughed at that, surprising them both with how genuine it was. "Silly Evan," she punched him in a friendly way.

He smiled. "That's what I'm here for."

"What? Silliness?"

"Yup," Evan nodded. "It's what I'm good at."

Divya looked at him, and opened her mouth as if about to disagree, but then she stopped when he spoke first. "So, are we good?"

"Yes," Divya replied.

"Good." For no reason other than he felt like it, he hugged her quickly. "Keep smiling at my magic, okay?"

Divya smiled, "I will." She watched as he left and wondered whether it would just take time. It had taken time for Evan to grow on her, and she'd started out genuinely disliking him.

Maybe, just maybe, all she had to do was give Adam time.

And everything would work out just fine, she assured herself.


	3. Chapter 3

I disclaim. This would have been up yesterday, but NaNoWriMo started. And NaNo is made of time-stealing magicks. I was feeling fairly sappy while I was writing this . . . enjoy!

XXXXXX

Divya loved the Hamptons. She loved the atmosphere, she loved the people, and she loved her job.

For the most part, she loved her life.

It worked for her—and she loved, loved, _loved _that she could do what she loved every day. The best part about not marrying Raj was being able to stay with HankMed. She could keep doing the job that was her life—and she was really, really good at it. One day, she would want more. Today, however, she was content.

She loved her friends too—some of which were more like family. She missed her family, of course, but all she could do was wait them out.

She sat on the beach, looking out at the sunset. It was ridiculously romantic, but she was alone. She had been waiting for Adam, but he'd called to say that he couldn't make it, that he was busy with something. He hadn't said what, but then again, she hadn't asked. She hadn't cared-but she didn't want to admit that to herself. She wanted to enjoy herself, she wanted to take a moment and just—

And with that a familiar voice cut into her train of thought.

"Are you okay?"

Divya closed her eyes. This was not what she needed. "I'm fine. Adam is running a little late, so I'm spending some time alone."

"Do you want me to leave?"

Divya opened her eyes in surprise. "If you want."

Of course Evan proceeded to sit down in the soft sand next to her, sinking down into a comfortable position.

Divya nearly laughed. Typical Evan.

Divya didn't question why Evan being there didn't interrupt her "alone time."

"I love this."

Divya turned her head slightly toward Evan, "What?"

"This. The perfect time of day, the perfect location, the perfect view, the perfect company."

Divya was grateful for the sun, there was a slight pink tinge to her skin. So when her face burned red in a blush at his statement made her feel a little less uncomfortable than it could have. She was sure he'd meant it innocently, in a friendly sort of way, but it still made her blush a little.

"You mean yourself?" She asked teasingly.

Evan smiled at her. "Obviously. And you too, I guess."

They shared a smile at that.

Evan didn't want to ruin the moment, but he had to wonder why it was easy to talk to Divya. Usually, she liked to bite his head off, but lately they'd been almost . . . friendly.

Things had changed the moment that Divya had ended her engagement to Raj. She had made the choice to live her life the way she wanted to, and it seemed like she'd let her hair down. She'd unraveled a bit. She was less intense, but still as stubbornly _Divya _as she'd always been.

She seemed like a huge weight had lifted from her shoulders, like she'd realized that she didn't have to fight all of the time to get what she wanted. And now, today, she was relaxing on the beach, waiting to see the sunset.

It was uncharacteristic, but Evan thought it was a good change. He believed, quite fiercely in fact, that she needed more of these moments.

These moments were _soft _and happy. These moments were the ones where she let her hair down—which she did, but not nearly often enough in Evan's opinion.

The breeze shifted at that moment, and Divya sighed—almost as if she were one with the wind—before speaking,"It's lovely."

Evan stared at Divya as she watched the sunset. "It's beautiful."

"Why are you here, Evan?"

Evan shrugged. "Went for a walk, and I wanted to watch the sun go down. I love the slight purplish tint of the sky. It's just so . . . random."

Divya smiled. "It's an absolutely gorgeous view."

"It is," he wasn't sure which view he was talking about, so he tried not to think about it especially hard. He noticed a slight shiver. "Are you cold? Maybe you should—"

Divya looked at him, "Do you really want to ruin this moment because the weather is a little less than perfect?"

"No." He really didn't.

"So enjoy it."

Evan turned back to the skies, and looked out over the ocean.

"It kinda makes you wonder."

Divya cocked her head to the side, "Wonder what?"

"If something that incredibly perfect just happens, or if there's some sort of logic behind it."

Divya ignored both the scientific and religious answers that sprang to mind. "I think I prefer to think it's just a perfect moment of serendipity, where everything just kind of comes together in some sort of beautiful accident."

"I like that. Beautiful accident." Evan almost seemed to whisper the words to himself. "I think the best things, the ones worth living for, the kind people write songs about and die for—that's the way they happen."

Divya looked at him with mild surprise evident on her face. She was surprised he was so . . . thoughtful. She decided not to ruin a beautiful evening with an insult, however, so she merely looked back at the skyline. The sun was barely visible.

Instead of ruining the moment now that the sun had set, Divya just stayed quiet.

They both just sat there, as if by some unspoken pact they'd decided not to ruin the moment, and watched as the day finally slipped away into night.

XXXX

"You didn't show up."

"Sorry, I had a—"

"I don't care." Divya said, practically stalking over to a cupboard and pulling out a box of chocolate. "Oh, chocolate. You don't ignore my phone calls or skip dates. You'll never leave me, will you?" The chocolates didn't answer, but it didn't matter. Divya knew the answer was that they would stay on her thighs until she exercised them off. The thing about chocolate though was that you could always buy more.

"Divya, let me explain myself. I called you, didn't I?"

"I know." She did, she really did. But lately he'd canceled numerous dates, and he was always busy with something or other. He would always have a perfectly reasonable excuse, but it wasn't just that. If it had been, she probably would have just accepted it. She had to cut short many a date because of her own profession, she had to give him the same sort of leeway.

But it _wasn't_ just that.

It was the fact that for some reason he thought her elbow was an erogenous zone, no matter how many times she assured him that she hated when he kissed her right there.

It was that he always touched her stomach, and spoke to it as if he were imagining his child inside of her. It freaked her out, frankly. She wanted children . . . but she didn't want _his _children. At least not anytime soon.

It was in the way he kissed her. There was a spark, but instead of turning into a full-blown flame, it instead seemed to fizzle out. Some sparks didn't last if you didn't have a solid basis to build a fire.

They didn't even really have a flame, Divya realized, to continue her fire metaphor.

It was everything, truly.

In the moment when Adam began to explain to her his latest project, and how he'd just gotten carried away with something or other that she didn't truly care about in the least, she realized something quite pertinent.

You could always get more chocolate.

And there were always more men.

Divya, upon realizing this, stuffed a mini-chocolate bar in her mouth so that she didn't rudely interrupt him. Because if she had, she'd have broken up with him, then and there, over chocolate. And she didn't think that was particularly appropriate, it wasn't something she wanted to do in front of the chocolate.

XXXX

"I broke up with Adam."

Evan spun around at that. "Oh, took you long enough."

Divya raised an eyebrow. "That was sweet of you."

"Sorry," he said, obviously not sorry. "You did say that you broke up with him, which means that I don't have to hunt him down and do terrible things to him."

Divya looked at him in surprise, "You wouldn't really do terrible things to him, would you?"

Evan looked at her as if she were somehow inept, "Of course. How could you doubt that? Why? Did he do something?"

Divya fought between being indignant and amused. Amusement won out and she laughed.

Evan just stared at her. "Do I need to hunt him down?"

"No, Evan. No. It just had to happen. Sometimes relationships aren't right, sometimes people aren't meant to be together. Life just happens that way."

Evan smiled at that, "Well, then I'm glad you've come to your senses."

As Divya and Evan shared a smile and a laugh Paige walked in. She stopped dead in her tracks, staring at them as if they'd lost their minds. "What did I miss?"

Evan turned to Paige, "Nothing important."

Divya noticed a sting at his words. Nothing important. Ouch. She realized, of course, that he probably just didn't feel like explaining himself to Paige . . . but it still hurt a little. She tried not to dissect the reasons why that might be the case.

Paige smiled at that and walked over to Evan, kissing him full on the mouth. "Did you miss me?"

"Of course," Evan replied, his hands curving around her to get to her lower back.

"Good," Paige kissed him.

Divya cleared her throat awkwardly. "I should go."

"You should." Paige said briefly before attacking Evan again.

As Divya watched Evan kiss Paige, she felt something. _A spark._ A flame beginning to rage within her.

She didn't quite know what, but she did know that something was incredibly wrong with this picture. Meaning, of course, that Paige shouldn't be in it.

And with that Divya realized that she'd somehow managed to develop feelings for Evan. Inexplicably, strangely, it had happened. And she had absolutely no idea what came next.

XXXXXX

I, however, know exactly what comes next :) Review?


	4. Chapter 4

*disclaims* Enjoy. I don't have a beta, so all errors 'belong' to me.

XXXXXX

Love, Divya knew, was complicated.

There was friendship, and there was family. There was the kind of love you felt for someone who felt safe, a love of comfort—such as the love she'd had for Raj.

There was another sort though. The kind that could sneak up on you and make you doubt everything and anything you'd ever felt before.

The idea that Divya could love Evan seemed ridiculous, impossible and highly unlikely.

It was also probably true, at least as far as Divya seemed to feel.

It had surprised her.

She hadn't wanted it, she hadn't seen it coming.

She was also apparently lying to herself. She could have seen it coming if she'd been paying attention.

The truth was that she hadn't let herself think about it. She'd spent so much time insisting to herself and anyone who would listen that she loved Raj, that she hadn't let herself pay attention to the small things.

Like the way he made her laugh, even when she simultaneously wanted to smack him. Like the way he was loyal, to a fault, to those who mattered to him.

Like the way her heart beat a little faster whenever she was around him—a phenomenon she'd attributed to the fact that he drove her crazy.

Now she felt foolish. She'd broken things off with Adam because it was _wrong_ to be with him.

She'd wanted her freedom. She'd sat with Evan, just looking out at the ocean, and she'd known. She'd known that what she really wanted was _more_ out of life. And then, when she'd gone to share her news with Evan—for reasons she couldn't even begin to explain, as she didn't understand them herself—she'd seen something.

For a brief moment she'd seen Evan—kindly, funny, _amazing _Evan. Then Paige had shown up, and it was all wrong. Someone like Evan didn't belong with someone like Paige. He needed someone with more . . . determination, someone who would challenge him and make him be a better man.

He needed Divya.

Divya couldn't have answered if you'd asked her when she'd fallen for Evan, because she simply didn't know the answer.

She just knew that she felt something when she was with him—a sort of intensity, a softness. When she was with him, she didn't feel alone, and she felt safe. But she also felt inspired, and amused and . . . maybe she was just reading too much into the situation, she assured herself.

Kissing Evan had just been . . . wow. But maybe that had been the adrenaline, maybe they weren't compatible. The only way to find out though was to try again and see what happened.

Divya wasn't running away from love, she was seeking it at full-speed.

XXXX

Evan wasn't expecting her.

Divya stood in front of him, rambling on about something reasonably insignificant, as he grew increasingly curious as to why she'd shown up at his doorstep.

"Divya, why are you really here?"

Divya stopped in the middle of her sentence as he interrupted her. "I just wanted to talk about the—"

"Don't lie to me. Obviously, you're not here to complain about the new design of the HankMed website. You don't really care." He looked at her, concerned. "Are you okay?"

Divya closed her eyes and breathed deeply. That he seemed to be able to read her didn't make this any easier. He knew her—somehow better than she'd ever given him credit for. "I've been thinking . . . " she drifted off.

"Well, um, thinking is usually a good thing. About what?"

Divya didn't know what to say, so the words came out of her without her control, without being filtered through her brain. "Paige. Is she really right for you?"

Evan stared at her as if she'd lost her mind. "I don't see how that would be any of your business, but we're okay. We're . . . happy."

"Are you really? Is it just, 'oh, this is nice' or 'this could be nice forever'? Is she _it_, is she the _one_, the person you want to love forever?"

Evan thought for a few seconds, actually considering her question. "Maybe. I don't know. But Divya, why are you asking? Why would you care?"

"I thought you said we were friends, Evan."

"We are, but—"

With that Divya interrupted him by placing her lips on his in a kiss.

"What the hell was that?" Evan asked her after she pulled away, staring at her, obviously shocked and confused.

"I wanted to make sure."

"Of what? That you've lost your mind? Because I can verify that if you need me to," he joked semi-seriously.

Divya looked at him sadly. "I wanted to see if there was something between us."

"Is there?"

"Evan, I think you know as well as I do what the answer is." Divya stared at him, slightly dizzy because of the sensation she'd felt while kissing him.

"I wish you hadn't done that." Evan said softly.

Divya, hearing that, felt her heart clench. "Fine. We can pretend I didn't." And she left him alone with his thoughts.

XXXX

Hours after the kiss, Evan finally stormed over to Divya as she walked along the beach, apparently unaware of the storm currently brewing.

"Why would you do that to me?"

Divya looked up at him in surprise. "Evan, what are you doing here?"

"Divya, answer the question."

"What did I do to you?"

"You ruined it. Divya, I've had feelings for you practically since the first time you insulted me. When I found out you were engaged to Raj it nearly broke my heart. I tried to convince myself that you didn't love him, or that he didn't love you. But Raj is a nice guy, Divya. And then you broke things off. But not because of me, but because of Adam, and that hurt. I told myself, over and over again, that it didn't mean anything, that I don't care about you in that way. I finally managed to convince myself, and then you come along and try to change the game. It hurts, Div." The words seem to explode out of him in a slight scream, as if he'd been holding them in for so long all he could do was let them out.

Divya looked at him, her eyes watering slightly. "You never said anything."

"What was I supposed to say, Div? Half the time you seem to hate me, and the other half I just don't even know. But now things are different. I'm with Paige."

It sounded final and ominous.

"Evan, I—"

"Divya, you make me crazy." Evan placed his hand on her cheek. "I loved you, but I made myself stop."

"I—"

"Divya, please let me finish," Evan grabbed his hair with his left hand in a nervous gesture. "Actually, you know what? Nevermind. You should probably just get inside. This weather is pretty awful. We don't need to have this conversation."

Divya looked into his eyes, searching for something, though she wasn't even particularly sure what. "I care for you, Evan."

"It doesn't matter."

Divya started to turn around walk away. Evan watched as she walked away. She got about five steps away before she turned on her heel and closed the gap between them quickly, jumping into his arms and kissing him with everything she was, and everything she wanted to be with him.

His hands, he would assure himself later, only went around her out of surprise. He didn't pull away because, again, he had been surprised. He kissed back because there was an attractive woman in his arms. It wasn't because she was Divya, and he was Evan. It wasn't because no matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop loving her.

He was, of course, lying to himself.

Divya stepped back suddenly, pulling away from the intensity of the kiss. "I'll see you later, Evan."

"Yeah." It was all he _could _say.

XXXX

When in doubt, Evan believed firmly in the power of going to his brother for advice.

"What do you want now, Evan?" Hank asked, barely looking up from his dinner.

"Just to talk."

"Then talk."

"Divya kinda said something today that made me think—"

"Good for Divya."

Evan pretended to laugh, "Ha. Ha. So clever, Hank."

"I like to think so."

"She said she has feelings for me."

Hank looked up in surprise, "I thought she was dating that guy Adam."

"She was. Not anymore. Apparently she—wow, when I say this it sounds impossible."

"Evan, just tell me what happened." Hank prodded gently.

"She kissed me, and she said she has feelings for me. And then I yelled at her."

Hank facepalmed. "Why would you do something like that?"

"I told her that she hurt me. I spent so much time trying so desperately to not love her, I can't just turn my emotions on and off like that." Evan said, slightly annoyed.

"Evan, why did you tell me you didn't love Divya when I mentioned it to you right after she started dating Adam and you were giving her a hard time?"

Evan thought carefully, "Because I don't want to love her."

"Why not?"

"Because she doesn't—didn't love me." Realization dawned. "But Paige—"

"Are you in love with Paige?"

Evan shook his head, "No."

"Is she in love with you?"

Evan cocked his head to the side, "Not really."

"Then why would you give up being with the woman you're in love to be with her?"

"I wouldn't," Evan replied. "I need to—"

"You need to fix things."

"How do I do that?"

"You know Divya, what does she need?" Hank asked, slightly exasperated, and a little bemused.

"Thanks Hank," Evan said without answering the question, his mind already working a mile a minute. "I need to—"

"Just go. Good luck."

Evan walked closer and patted his brother on the shoulder. "Thanks," then he left.

He had a plan.


	5. Chapter 5

This is just pure sap. I have no excuse for it. It just is. I disclaim! This took a lot longer than it should have. First, I got distracted by Mikita, then I had a midterm, then life just kept happening. This chapter was kind of hard to write. Endings and I have issues.

XXXXXX

There was a moment when he realized that he was an idiot. Simply, an idiot.

He could have been kinder, or harsher, but he'd decided not to. He was, after all, himself. He wanted to be fair. And he was an idiot.

Evan had, however, decided to rectify that idiocy.

He loved Divya.

It was simple, and true.

He had a long list of things to do before he could tell her that.

XXXX

"Hey," Evan said nervously. "Paige, we need to talk."

The smile that had been forming on her face disappeared at the seriousness in his voice. "About what?"

"Us."

At that Paige knew that it was over and that she'd lost Evan to Divya. She'd known it as soon as Evan had mentioned Divya to her. She'd known it when she'd met Divya and seen the way they bickered. She knew it when she looked at the special smile Evan reserved just for Divya.

It had only been a matter of time.

There had been a part of her that hoped she'd be able to win him over before they'd realized that they were in love with one another . . . but apparently that part of her had been wrong.

"You're breaking up with me," she stated, knowing it was true.

Evan could only nod, "I'm sorry."

"No, you're not. You're sorry you're hurting me, but you're not sorry for ending things. Don't lie to me."

"Paige—"

Paige smiled, a rueful sort of smile, "Just go, Evan."

"I hope you find someone worthy of you."

"So do I."

XXXX

Divya chopped the vegetables for the soup she was making. She sighed.

She felt lonely. Just really, really lonely. After Evan's rejection she hadn't been able to face him. It had been a few days, but she still couldn't do anything except ignore him.

She couldn't even insult him, but it didn't seem to bother him.

He kept smiling some secretive smile, as if he knew something she didn't. Bastard.

But that was irrelevant, so she kept chopping the celery. A doorbell ringing interrupted her thoughts. She wiped off her hands quickly and headed over to the door, opening it up before checking to see who it was.

"Mother? I—"

"Don't be rude, Divya. Let me in." Her mother pushed her way in.

"Why are you here?" Divya knew she should have been a little more polite, but her parents hadn't spoken to her in months, except to say that they were disappointed in her and no longer considered her their daughter.

Divya's mother suddenly looked slightly uncomfortable. "Because you are family."

Divya tried not to get her hopes up, instead choosing to lift an eyebrow, "Really? Because you've refused to speak to me for months, and essentially informed me that I am, indeed, not family."

Divya's mother stepped forward and hugged her awkwardly, "That is not true."

Divya stood in her mother's arms until she realized that she really was trying to hug her, then suddenly her arms came up and she hugged back. "Have you forgiven me?"

Her mother snorted derisively, "Of course not. But . . . someone assured us that there are more important things in this world then letting you go forever because you won't marry Raj."

"Who?"

Her mother straightened herself up, "That silly friend of yours. He came to speak to us and although I hate to admit it, I believe he was right about some things."

"Evan?" Divya practically whispered.

"I don't know. Anyway, if you truly didn't like Raj, I suppose we could have found you someone else."

"I liked Raj, I just didn't love him."

Her mother snorted. "Love."

"Yes, love."

"We still don't approve, Divya."

Divya's face fell. "But—"

"But we suppose that we can help you find another appropriate match."

"I don't—"

Her mother interrupted, "Maybe we can discuss a compromise later. At dinner."

Divya smiled softly, "I'd like that."

XXXX

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

Divya opened the door, almost expecting her mother to have returned with a new suitor.

Divya didn't want anyone else though, she just wanted . . . "Evan."

He smiled, "Yup."

"Thank you," was the first thing that popped into her head. "For my mother, for doing that. She came by yesterday. I can't believe that she'd actually listen to you."

"She took some convincing," Evan smiled at Divya's obvious happiness. "But I won her over."

"Thank you," Divya said again, smiling slightly.

"No problem."

Divya realized they were awkwardly standing at the door so she stepped back and motioned him in.

As he walked in he stopped right in front of her."I'm sorry." Evan was quite obviously nervous.

"Why?"

"I wasn't fair to you before. I—" Evan nervously fidgeted with his hair.

"Just say it," Divya said, hope apparent in her eyes.

Evan almost seemed to sigh with relief. "I love you. I'm _in_ love with you. And I—"

Divya felt her heart swell, almost as if it would explode with joy.

"—I just love you," he continued. "And—"

Divya interrupted him with a kiss.

For a moment, the world seemed to cease its spinning, as if it were frozen in time.

For a moment, they were home, and they were the center of the universe.

Just the two of them, together.

Evan pulled away first. "I thought that would be harder, that you might make me grovel because I . . . "

"Rejected me? I would, but that would hurt me as much as it would hurt you."

Evan smiled nervously, holding his hand out to Divya.

She looked at it, and without hesitating placed her own hand in his.

"Where do we go from here?"

"I was thinking dinner. I'm rather hungry and my mother monopolized most of my day with phone calls concerning the multitude of ways I have to make up for my absence from her life."

Evan hesitated, "Speaking of your mother . . . I think she hates me."

Divya smiled, lifting her hand to his cheek. "But I don't. What do you think matters more?"

Evan smiled and leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips. "You, always."

"Oh, Evan. I love you."

"I love you too. Always, Divya. Always."

XXXX

"If your mother didn't already hate me, I think this would kind of make her see red. She could kill me for this."

Divya smirked. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

"I don't think anyone can protect me from her wrath."

"Why? Because we're getting married? Or because I asked you?"

"Both. Because I'm not good enough for you, and because I forced you to awkwardly inform me that we were getting married."

"You were going to ask, I should have waited."

"You should have. I was waiting until I got up the courage to ask your parents if they were going to kill me for marrying you, but you kind of cut that off. So now I still don't know if they're going to come sneaking over here before the ceremony and whack me."

Divya smiled and leaned in to pat him on the head—much like a child playing duck-duck-goose. "You'll be fine. We've already paid for the wedding."

"This is really complicated, Div."

"The complicated cross-cultural ceremonies, or us?"

Evan smiled slightly, "We're not complicated. But life is."

"But we'll get through it together." Divya assured him.

"You know what? You're right."

"Good." Divya said, smiling. "I do believe that you should always acknowledge that fact. Now, can we go seal the deal now?"

"We've already done that though—" Evan was interrupted by Divya smacking him. "Ow!"

"Don't ever say something like that again, or you won't have to worry about my family killing you, because I'll do it first." Divya warned sternly, trying not to ruin her seriousness with a smile.

Evan smiled. "Are you ready?"

"Absolutely."

XXXX

After the words were said, and after the ceremonial parts of the wedding were complete, Evan and Divya took a few minutes alone to walk along the beach at which they'd had their wedding—quite contrary to what everyone else had wanted.

But that, Divya assured her parents, was where she first felt a change in the winds.

That, Evan assured Hank, was where he almost let the best thing in his life slip away.

And so, they stood, looking out over the ocean.

As the breeze picked up Divya leaned into Evan for warmth. "I think we're going to be okay."

Evan looked around and then back down at Divya, "I know we will. Because we have each other. And even though that sounds entirely too clichéd, it's also true. And just a little bit more awesome than perfect."

"You're right. That _was _entirely too clichéd." Divya smiled in a ridiculously happy sort of way. "But you're right."

Divya leaned up to kiss Evan on the cheek, then rested her head on his shoulder.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

XXXXXX

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this. Thanks for reading!


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